1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a service desk for the registration, booking and/or payment of goods, vouchers and the like, having a service section including, for example, at least a data display device, a data input device and an output device for coupons, receipts and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such desks are known, for example, as check-in counters in airport departure concourses and are arranged in a great number next to one another in so-called check-in lines. It can be observed that, particularly at slack times, only some of the check-in counters are occupied by operators. Long lines then form there, while the unoccupied counters stand empty.
This situation leads to dissatisfaction on the part of the passengers. Many of them travel frequently by aircraft and would therefore be quite able without anyone else's assistance to complete the necessary formalities before embarking on a flight. The present situation is likewise unsatisfactory for the airline, since the high investments for the counters and the data processing equipment is in contrast to only a low degree of use.
A similar problem occurs in the case of goods registration and payment terminals for stores, so-called check-out terminals. Such terminals are known, for example, from supermarkets, where they are arranged in a great number next to one another in the so-called check-out lines. Here too, it can be observed that, particularly at slack times, only some of the check-out terminals are occupied by operating staff. Long lines then form there, while the unoccupied terminals cannot be used.
Here too, many of the customers, who frequently have only few articles to pay for, would be quite able without anyone else's assistance to register the identification of the goods, for example via a bar-code marking, and pay the invoice amount without cash with the aid of a credit card or pay in cash at a central cash desk after receiving a bill. With regard to the degree of use of the check-out terminals, the same considerations apply here for the operators of the store as for the airlines in the case described above.
In German Patent Application 23 39 595 a bulletproof service desk is described, in which a customer's side and an operator's side are separated by a bulletproof glass wall, in which a pass through and under which a turntable with a hollow are arranged.